McGee & Son in 1938. Wilbur Ardoin was working in the family dry goods business when he decided to purchase the Eunice funeral home. Later, in the following year, came the extension of the Ville Platte funeral home as well as additional locations in Mamou, La (1950), Basile, La (1965), and Iota, La (1973). The Ardoin's maintained a successful yet independent operation. Along with the funeral homes, there was a granite and marble works business as well as a casket manufacturing facility (ECCO – Eunice Casket Company). Throughout the years, the funeral homes and property in the larger towns were sold off to local establishments and relocated to other growing parts of the town with bigger and fancier facilities. Subsequently, the granite and marble business was sold in 1953 to a distant member of the Ardoin family and the casket manufacturing facility was deactivated and torn down to make room for a more elaborate and modern Eunice funeral home. The Ardoin funeral heritage maintained its independence for many years until 1986 when they merged with Hixson Group out of Lake Charles, La. In 1988 a company by the name of Service Corporation International out of Houston, TX, purchased the group ultimately becoming its parent provider. After many years of successful corporate ownership Ardoin's was purchased and is currently privately owned by Legacy Funeral Service of Louisiana.
